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Tables were turned on an Avery County man after an incident late last Thursday night. At about 11:30 PM, Officers with the Avery County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call on Cow Camp Rd involving a man on a woman’s porch asking her to call 911. Deputies arrived on scene accompanied
by an Officer from the Newland Police Department, and there the man, identified as James Henry Slawter, stated that his father had attempted to kill him and his sister inside their home located on Will Robbins Lane. Slawter stated that he was able to escape the home and run down the road in an attempt to find help, but that his sister was still trapped inside the home. Supervisors with the Sheriff’s Office quickly mobilized the Avery County Special Response Team, a team of officers from the Avery County Sheriff’s Office, Banner Elk, Beech Mountain, and the Seven Devils Police Departments. The SRT made contact with the father with the use of a megaphone in an attempt to get the occupants outside of the residence. The father and sister complied and followed all commands without incident. After securing the residence investigations took over the scene and interviewed the father and sister only to find out that Mr. Slawter had provided false information to the initial responding Officers. Deputies released the father and sister and charged Mr. James Henry Slawter with providing false information to a Law Enforcement Officer.